CABINET
Minutes of a meeting held on 1st
April, 2009.
Present: Councillor G.C. Kemp
(Chairman); Councillor T.H. Jarvie (Vice-Chairman); Councillors
Mrs. J.E. Charles, P. Church, G.A. Cox, A.M. Ernest, A.D. Hampton,
H.J.W. James, R.L. Traherne and Mrs. D.M. Turner.
Also present: Councillor R.F. Curtis.
C402
MINUTES -
RESOLVED - T H A T the minutes of the meeting
held on 25th March, 2009 be approved as a correct
record.
C403
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST -
No declarations were received.
C404
CABINET SUB-COMMITTEE (PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY) -
The following minutes of a meeting held on
25th March 2009 were submitted:
“Present: Councillor H.J.W.
James (Chairman); Councillors P. Church, A.M. Ernest and A.D.
Hampton.
(a)
Minutes -
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the minutes of the
meeting held on 17th December, 2008 be approved as
a correct record.
(b)
Declarations of interest -
No declarations were received.
(c) Application for
Public Path Diversion Order - Nos. 19 and 20 Penllyn (DEER)
-
Members were advised of an application for
the diversion of part of Public Footpath No. 20 Penllyn together
with the diversion of part of Restricted Byway No. 19 Penllyn, and
were asked to approve the making of the relevant Diversion
Order.
An application had been received from Mr.
and Mrs. S.R. Blackman of Chatwood and Mr. J.G.R. Homfray on behalf
of Penllyne Estates for the proposed diversion of part of Public
Footpath No. 20 Penllyn (shown as B-C on the map appended to the
report) and part of Restricted Byway No. 19 (A‑B). All the
land over which the Definitive Footpath (B-C) and Restricted Byway
(A-B) and proposed diversions (A-D-C) passed were within the
ownership of one or other of the Applicants. The route of the
proposed diversion was shown on the map referred to above.
The line of the proposed diversion route was already informally in
place. However, at present, it had no formal legal status and
its surface was unsatisfactory. Once diverted, the landowner
had agreed that the Public Footpath would be upgraded to a
Restricted Byway and that the complete route would form part of a
proposed improvement project under the Council’s “Creative Rural
Communities” Partnership which had recently secured funds from the
Rural Development Plan for Wales. On completion of a
successful Diversion Order, a report would be submitted to this
Sub-Committee with regard to the proposed reclassification from
Footway to Restricted Byway. It was noted that the Applicants
had agreed to reimburse the Council for the costs of £1.1k. for the
making of the new Order in accordance with current
regulations.
RESOLVED -
(1) T
H A T the Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services
be authorised to make an Order under Section 119 of the Highways
Act 1980 to divert part of Restricted Byway No. 19 Penllyn and part
of Public Footpath No. 20 Penllyn as shown on the map attached to
the report and, provided no objections were received, be authorised
to confirm the Order.
(2) T
H A T once the required works had been satisfactorily completed,
the Public Rights of Way Officer be authorised to issue a
Certificate of Completion under Schedule 6 Paragraph 9(1) to 9(3)
of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
Reasons for decisions
(1)
The Order is required for the security and convenience of the
Applicants and the safety and convenience of the users of the
Footpath and Restricted Byway.
(2)
There are works to be carried out by the landowners on the new
route of the Footpath and Restricted Byway to bring them into
being.”
________
RESOLVED - T H A T the minutes be noted.
C405
FINAL PROPOSALS FOR REVENUE BUDGET 2009/10 AND PROPOSED BUDGET
STRATEGY FOR THE PERIOD TO 2012 (REF) -
The Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources)
had, on 17th March 2009, considered the final proposals
for revenue budget 2009/10 and the proposed budget strategy for the
period to 2012 which had previously been considered by the Cabinet
on 25th February 2009 and had been referred to the
Scrutiny Committee for comment.
The Head of Accountancy and Resource
Management had outlined the challenges facing the Council which had
been considered by the Cabinet on 25th February
2009.
Scrutiny Committee were advised that the
purpose of the Review was to ensure:
·
a sustainable budget was achieved within predicted funding
levels
·
the budget was aligned to the Council’s priorities as set out in
the Corporate Plan
·
obtaining the best value for money via efficiency savings, income
generation and better use of external grants.
It was expected that the Review would put
in place a three-year financial strategy for the period up to March
2012 with the Budget Working Group being responsible for conducting
the same. The Review methodology was followed for the
Review:
·
future resource requirements were assessed having regard to likely
future revenue settlements, cost pressure information previously
provided as part of the Medium Term Financial Planning process and
known developments
·
Directors formulated options for savings, additional income, over
the next three years and, if appropriate, beyond
·
budgets within the Cost Centre Analysis were reviewed to assess
risk and relative corporate priority in order to assist with the
above
·
the Budget Working Group prepared proposals for initial
consideration by Cabinet, following which they were submitted to
the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources).
Reference had been made to Committee of the
cost pressures facing the Council which were likely to amount to
£15m. over the years 2010-11 and 2011-12. This figure had
been anticipated based on current indicative information from WAG
with regard to standard spending assessments for 2010/11. In
addition to these matters there were also likely to be ongoing
issues that were likely to have a significant impact on future
budgets, for example the draft Schools Funding (Wales) Regulations
2009, an adverse decision in respect of the arbitration case on the
Council’s Social Services Care Home fees, Council Housing Stock and
options to achieve the WHQS, Schools Investment Strategy, the
impact of the Metrix development on the western Vale and the Waste
Disposal Strategy.
Reference was also made to the Welsh Assembly
Government’s efficiency agenda which was due to end in
2009/10. However, given the current economic climate and the
future impact of various government measures taken, it was
anticipated that the efficiency agenda would continue in future
years.
A number of points raised at the meeting
included the potential for redundancies and the consequential
financial implications for the Council, a need for the wholesale
review of the Council staff structures from the top down, the
suggestion that the Strategy be implemented with immediate effect,
the financial implications for the Council implementing Job
Evaluation and matters relating to Single Status, the impact of the
wider recession on Council resources and the cost implications for
the Council implementing the Waste Agenda.
Reference was also made to the need for
additional financial support from WAG given the initiative deriving
from WAG as a result of its own agenda.
Further issues referred to related to the
reduction in revenue the Council was receiving in light of the
current recession, increase in demand on Council services such as
the Homelessness Service also as a consequence of the recession,
the relevance of the Barnett formula in the current economic
climate and the need for a fundamental review of the Revenue
Support Grant allocation on a pan-Wales basis.
Scrutiny Committee had recommended -
(1) That
Cabinet have regard to the specific points raised when taking
forward the proposals contained in the Budget.
(2) That
Cabinet be requested to continue to lobby the WAG to put forward
the Council’s case for additional resources in light of existing
low funding base and the indicative funding proposals from WAG for
local government 2010/11 and onwards.
In considering the comments of Scrutiny
Committee (Corporate Resources), Cabinet were aware that, since the
Strategy was developed, the WAG Finance Minister had announced a
£500m. reduction in WAG’s budget for 2010-11. It was
difficult to give any certain view at this stage of its effect
because it was not know whether that would in fact be the figure
until the Chancellor’s budget statement towards the end of
April. However, the WLGA had provided a very provisional
assessment of the possible impact on the Local Government
settlement, based on the assumption that this reduction would be
applied evenly across all budget heads. In this case the
uplift to the all Wales AEF would fall from the current forward
indicator of an increase of 2.9% to around 1%. Clearly though
the WLGA could not know how the reduction would eventually be
applied. For the Vale, this would translate to approximately
£2.7m. less income from WAG than was predicted in the current
Strategy. It was felt to be prudent therefore to plan for
more savings. The recommendations from Scrutiny Committee
were welcomed but the Council would achieve less in lobbying on its
own.
Scrutiny Committee were thanked for their
comments and suggestions.
The following was
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the proposed budget strategy for the period to 2012, as set out
in paragraphs 42 to 61 of the Director of Finance, ICT and
Property’s report, be endorsed.
(2) T H A
T the total savings target for 2010/11 be increased by £2.7m. and
the Director of Finance, ICT and Property Services report back on
how this sum is to be allocated across Directorates.
(3) T H A
T Management Team take immediate action to achieve the identified
savings targets and report back to Cabinet on progress.
(4) T H A
T the Council work with the Welsh Local Government Association in
continuing to lobby the Welsh Assembly Government for additional
resources.
C406
WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT - PUBLIC FACILITIES GRANT SCHEME
2009-2010 (DEER) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT)
-
Approval was sought to participate within the
Welsh Assembly Government’s Public Facilities Grant Scheme
2009/10.
WAG felt that local authorities were best
placed to play a leading role in ensuring that local people and
visitors could access good quality public toilets in their
areas. WAG wanted Welsh local authorities to look closely at
how they provided public facilities and ensure that they met their
demands now and in the future.
Whilst the Council provides a non-statutory
Public Convenience provision to residents and visitors to the Vale
of Glamorgan, there was no requirement for private businesses to
open their toilet facilities to the public.
To assist local authorities to encourage local
businesses to open their toilet facilities free for public use, WAG
had offered grant funding of up to £17,500 to the Council.
This grant funding, up to a maximum sum of
£500 per premises, could be used to make payment to businesses
wishing to participate in the Grant Scheme.
Any participating premises must satisfy the
Council that the toilet facilities provided met acceptable
standards of safety, hygiene, accessibility for disabled people,
and provision for both sexes at agreed opening hours.
Premises would also display signage advertising public use of their
toilets.
It was a condition of the Grant that within 1
month of payment of the Grant, details of all participants
including details of the locations and opening hours of businesses’
toilets shall be included on the Council’s web pages.
The Grant was currently for 2009/10 period and
no commitment had been made by WAG for similar funding in future
years. It had, however, indicated that the success of the
scheme would be reviewed and there may be further funding in future
years.
Businesses would be asked to participate for a
12 month period for which the Grant allocation of up to £500 would
be available.
If too many businesses wished to participate
in the scheme the most relevant, based on their location and
facilities available, would be chosen by the Director of
Environmental and Economic Regeneration in consultation with the
Cabinet Member for Building and Visible Services.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T acceptance of the Grant funding be approved.
(2) T H A
T the Director of Environmental and Economic Regeneration in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Building and Visible
Services administer the Scheme in accordance with its terms and
conditions.
(3) T H A
T a further report be presented to Cabinet during 2009/10
indicating the success of the Grant Scheme.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
ensure that the Grant of up to £17,500 is available for use.
(2) To
encourage Vale Businesses to take part in the Scheme, increasing
public convenience provision within the Vale.
(3) To
advise Cabinet of the increase in public convenience provision as a
result of the Grant Scheme.
C407
PENARTH PIER PAVILION - PENARTH ARTS AND CRAFTS LTD (DEER)
(SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
Cabinet received an update on the bid
submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund by Penarth Arts and Crafts
Ltd (PACL) and their recent request for additional financial
support to enable them to resubmit their bid for Heritage Lottery
Fund (HLF) grant.
Following the decision of the Council to
commit £800,000 towards the costs of the restoration and
redevelopment of the Penarth Pier Pavilion building for use as a
cinema, café, observatory and multi-purpose community area, the
PACL submitted a bid to the HLF for a first round pass of
£2,220,000 with a development grant of £107,000.
PACL had received notification that their bid
had failed in this round because of a shortage of funds and that a
repackaged bid, to be made in 6-9 months time, could be
reconsidered.
PACL sought funding support with a ceiling of
£20,000 to enable this further submission to take place and to
continue refining the bid and seeking funding partners. Their
letter and the breakdown of their costs was attached at Appendix A
to the report.
PACL had received advice from the HLF at both
its national level and from the Wales office which led the Council
to believe that there was every chance of success if the project
was resubmitted.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the Council provide grant support of up to £20,000 to Penarth
Arts and Crafts Ltd based upon an appropriate Funding Agreement
setting out costs of consultancy, project management and office
costs and linked to a programme of work to culminate in a
resubmission to the Heritage Lottery Fund in September 2009.
(2) T H A
T the Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services in
consultation with the Director of Finance, ICT and Property be
authorised to prepare, complete and execute the necessary funding
agreement with Penarth Arts and Crafts Ltd upon such terms and
conditions as they deem appropriate after consultation and
agreement with the Cabinet Member for Economic Development and
Regeneration.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
ensure that sufficient financial resources are available in support
of the bidding process given that the advice of the Heritage
Lottery Fund to Penarth Arts and Craft Ltd was to resubmit their
bid in September 2009.
(2) To
ensure that the Council’s interests are adequately protected.
C408
CONSULTATION ON THE DRAFT ALL WALES HOME TO SCHOOL TRANSPORT RISK
ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK (DEER) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT AND
LIFELONG LEARNING) -
Cabinet were advised of the Consultation
Exercise undertaken by the Welsh Assembly Government in respect of
the Draft All Wales Home to School Transport Risk Assessment
Framework.
The WAG’s Education and Lifelong Learning
Committee published a review of school transport in 2005. One
of the recommendations of that Committee was that the WAG should
“review current practice and risk assessment and issue guidance to
local authorities and schools”. The Draft All Wales Home to
School Transport Risk Assessment Framework had been published as a
result of that recommendation.
The draft guidance was essential a risk
assessment pack that had been put together for use by transport
operators who carry out home to school transport contracts.
The draft guidance applied only to dedicated school service
contracts and did not cover public service contracts that carried
school pupils. It was not clear however from the draft
guidance whether Special Needs transport was covered.
The “pack” was broken down into five areas as
follows:
·
vehicle
·
drivers and passenger assistants
·
route
·
pick-up / drop off points
·
school site.
For each area there were detailed risk
assessment forms which were to be completed by the bus operators
and submitted to the local authority within 6 weeks of receiving
the pack. The local authority would then need to process the
completed forms and return signed copies to the transport operator
within a further six week period. These assessments could be
published if requested by parents.
The risk assessment forms would need to be
reviewed annually, immediately after an incident or if there were
changes to school transport provision. Any significant
changes would require a new risk assessment to be completed by the
operator and submitted to the local authority.
In view of the need for the Council’s response
to be with WAG by 6th March 2009, an interim response to
the Draft Framework was forwarded by officers on 6th
March 2009. A copy of the response was attached at Appendix A
to the report.
The draft response contained a number of
concerns with the guidance, these concerns also having been
expressed by SEWTA and ATCO. In summary, whilst the overall
thrust of the draft framework document was welcomed, further
detailed consideration needed to be taken by the Welsh Assembly
Government into the implications for Local Authorities. In
particular further investigation needed to be undertaken on how WAG
would fund these measures, as more staff and training would be
needed to comply with the framework.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the draft response to the
Draft All Wales Home to School Transport Risk Assessment Framework
as detailed at Appendix A to the report be approved.
Reason for decision
To enable the Council to formally advise the
WAG on comments that may be incorporated into any subsequent
updated assessment framework.
C409
JOB EVALUATION PROGRESS (DFICTP) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE RESOURCES)
-
Cabinet were updated on the progress of Job
Evaluation, progress on a new Pay and Grading structure and the
position regarding Equal Pay applications within the Council.
All posts under the NJC Single Status terms
and conditions had been evaluated, with the exception of those
staff directly employed by Schools who remained the responsibility
of the Governing Body.
The Pay Modelling Group consisting of the
Director of Finance, ICT and Property, Operational Manager Human
Resources, and two Joint Trade Union representatives, had and
continued to meet frequently for the past year to deal with the
strategic issues within the Job Evaluation process.
In line with the reviewed programme timescales
as shown at Appendix A to the report, a detailed analysis of
existing single status terms and conditions was ongoing to
facilitate a comprehensive package for discussion to trade
unions.
External advisors (NorthgateArinso) were
currently supporting the Job Evaluation exercise and had been
engaged to undertake the Payroll and Review arrangements.
Likewise NorthgateArinso had been engaged to conduct the equal pay
impact assessment.
It was generally stated within pay
negotiations that it was necessary to identify employee pay and all
associated benefits to facilitate a comprehensive agreement.
This was currently in progress following which the joint
negotiating team would need to be given the opportunity to shape
the scope and extent of their negotiations.
Member involvement would be needed to consider
any unresolved issues and Cabinet would need to determine the final
scheme provisions for implementation of the new pay and grading
structure.
Equal pay grievances were continuing to be
received by the Council and the majority had been referred to
Employment Tribunal by the trade unions. Although nationally
the possibility of changing terms and conditions for School
employed staff was being considered, no definitive outcome had been
received to date. In the meantime, it was considered
necessary to evaluate School employed posts employed under the
single status NJC terms and conditions, by means of a desktop
exercise whereby the job description and person specification would
be evaluated for posts. This approach would enable the
Council’s Human Resource function to assist Schools in evaluating
posts within the non teaching workforce if appropriate.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the content of the report be noted.
(2) T H A
T the report be referred to Scrutiny Committee (Corporate
Resources) for information.
Reason for decisions
(1&2) To update Members on the
progress of this corporate project.
C410
REVENUE MONITORING FOR THE PERIOD 1ST APRIL 2008 TO
28TH FEBRUARY 2009 (CMT) (SCRUTINY - ALL) -
Cabinet were advised of the progress of
revenue expenditure for the period 1st April 2008
to 28th February 2009.
The projected outturn for the 2008/09 Revenue
Budget was shown in comparison with the Amended Revenue Budget at
Appendix 1 to the report. Although there were pressures on
services’ budgets, the current forecast was for a balanced budget
on the Council Fund and the Housing Revenue Account.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the position with regard to
the Authority’s 2008/09 Revenue Budget be noted.
Reason for decision
That Members are aware of the projected
revenue outturn for 2008/09.
C411
CAPITAL MONITORING REPORT FOR THE PERIOD 1ST APRIL
TO 28TH FEBRUARY 2009 (CMT) (SCRUTINY - ALL)
-
Cabinet were advised of the progress on the
2008/09 Capital Programme for the period 1st April 2008
to 28th February 2009 and where necessary, considered
requests for changes to the Programme.
Director of Legal, Public Protection and
Housing Services -
Disabled Facilities Grants (Private Sector
Housing) - staffing issues within the Grants Section had meant that
the programmed expenditure on Disabled Facilities Grants had not
been achieved and expenditure was falling behind profile. As
the grants regime was subject to a stringent Improvement Agreement
Target, it was imperative that this situation was resolved and
action taken by Senior Managers to that end. Scrutiny
Committee had approved the establishment of a Task and Finish Group
and an action plan had been devised. Also, Business Process
Re-engineering had been undertaken in conjunction with the
Occupational Therapy Team in Social Services. The effect on
the Capital Programme was a potential underspend of £210,000 in
2008/09. However, as the targets were to be met, it was
requested that this potential underspend of £210,000 be slipped
into 2009/10 when the backlog would be reduced.
Director of Social Services -
Asset Renewal 2008/09 - works planned for the
kitchens at Rhoose Road had been delayed until April 2009 in order
to minimise disruption to clients at this facility. As such,
it was requested that the budget allocated for this scheme, of
£10,000 within the Asset Renewal 2008/09 budget, be slipped into
2009/10 in order that these works may continue with minimal
disruption to clients.
Director of Environmental and Economic
Regeneration -
Victoria Park - practical completion on this
scheme was issued on 22nd December 2006 and
following protracted negotiations with the contractors, the final
account for the HLF restoration works had now finally been
completed and paid. The final account exceeded the agreed
contract sum (including contingencies) by some £54,605.
Anticipating an increase as negotiations were ongoing, Cabinet had
approved that a transfer of revenue funding be made to the scheme
along with the acceptance of an additional funding offer from HLF
to install a children’s play area and Multi use games Area which
were completed in March 2008. The whole scheme was now
completed with a small overspend of £7,000 on the 2008/09 budget,
due mostly to handrails installed at the park in December.
This would be contained by a corresponding underspend in 2008/09
Visible Services Asset Renewal budget.
New Facilities, Parc Bryn y Don - delegated
powers had been exercised in order to fund the additional costs
incurred on this scheme, which began in 2005/06. The final
costs for this scheme were expected to be some £15,000 over budget
and as such delegated powers had been exercised in order to
transfer funding from within the existing 2008/09 Visible Services
Asset Renewal budget to the spend would be contained within
existing budgets. The £15,000 had been freed up from a budget
identified for the installation of an artificial multi-court pitch
was to have been supplied by the Football Association Wales.
Unfortunately the Association had not been able to supply the pitch
this year hence the installation budget could be
re-allocated.
Holton Road Shop Fronts - given the current
economic climate, the take up so far had been slow and it was
expected that only £5,000 would be required during this financial
year. As such, it was requested that the remaining budget of
£45,000 be slipped into 2009/10.
Dyffryn House Business Plan - this budget had
been set aside for works on developing a strategy for the future of
Dyffryn House. It was required to fund the early
investigation works required by proposed Heritage Lottery Fund
grant bid of some £500,000 currently being pursued by the
Council. The round one application had been submitted for
funding to enable the refurbishment of several of the principal
rooms on the ground floor of the House in order to bring part of
the House back into public use and increase potential revenues from
a wider range of day visitors. As the bid had just been
submitted, fees for architects, plans and specialist research would
be required during 2009/10 as the bid process evolved. As
such, it was requested that approval be granted for the slippage of
the remaining unspent budget of £18,000 into 2009/10 in order that
the scheme may progress.
Merrie Harrier Gyratory / Cardiff Road Bus
Lane - an application for further funding for a proposed bus lane
had been submitted to WAG. As works had been on hold pending
a decision on this application (which had now been approved) it had
meant that the anticipated spend during the financial year had
fallen to £525,000 (on a budget of £852,000). As progress
could not be made until the full funding allocation had been
received, a further bid to carry forward the remaining 2008/09
unspent allocation of £327,000 was now being prepared for
submission to WAG.
Safe Routes in Communities - this element of
WAG’s Transport Grant was expected to be some £75,000 underspent as
the consultation process resulted in various amended plans at St.
Brides Major Church in Wales School and at Cadoxton County Junior
and Infants School which in turn had meant that these schemes had
to be amended and progressed at a reduced cost. Hence the
full grant allocation would not now be spent.
A number of recommendations were to be
referred to Council because they were contrary to and not wholly in
accordance with the budget.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the 2008/09 Safe Routes in Communities budget be reduced by
£75,000 to £712,000.
(2) T H A
T Council be requested to approve the following:
· Disabled Facilities
Grants (Private Sector Housing) - reduce the budget to £1,326,000
(carry forward £210,000 to 2009/10).
· Social Services Asset
Renewal - reduce the budget to £90,000 (carry forward £10,000 to
2009/10).
· Holton Road Shop Fronts
- reduce the budget to £5,000 (carry forward £45,000 to
2009/10).
· Dyffryn House Business
Plan - reduce the budget to £10,000 (carry forward £18,000 to
2009/10).
· Merrie Harrier Gyratory
/ Cardiff Road Bus Lane - reduce the 2008/09 budget by £327,000 to
£525,000.
Reasons for decisions
(1&2) To allow schemes to be
undertaken in this or future financial years.
C412
SCHOOL ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS 2010/2011 (DLD) (SCRUTINY - LIFELONG
LEARNING) -
Cabinet were advised of the conclusion of the
Council’s statutory consultation exercise on school admission
arrangements for Community Schools in accordance with the Education
(Determination of Admission Arrangements) (Wales) Regulations
2006.
Councils have a statutory duty to consult on
school admissions arrangements annually. The school admission
arrangements must be determined by 15th April 2009
for implementation in September 2010.
The School Admissions Policy was issued for
consultation on 29th January 2009 to Headteachers,
diocesan directors, neighbouring local education authorities and
other interested parties. Responses were required by
1st March 2009.
The Authority was required to publish a
composite document each year for the subsequent school year
admissions round detailing school admission arrangements for all
maintained schools within its area. The information was
contained within the Council’s information booklet “Educating
Children in the Vale of Glamorgan - A Parental Guide to School
Admissions in the Vale”.
The proposed changes for the 2010/11 year were
as follows:
·
admission arrangements for Primary and Secondary Schools had been
amended to prioritise Looked After Children
·
admission arrangements for nursery schools and classes had been
amended to clarify the position for those parents with sibling
connections attending a school.
The only comments received in response to the
consultation exercise were in support of the proposed
arrangements.
The admission arrangements detailed at
Appendix A to the report had been considered by and supported by
Vale of Glamorgan School Admissions Forum.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the School Admissions
Policy for 2010/11 (attached at Appendix A to the report) be
approved in order that the requirement to determine the policy by
15th April 2009 be met and the admissions arrangements
may be implemented from September 2010.
Reason for decision
The Council is required to review school
admissions arrangements annual and to determine the arrangements
following appropriate consultation by 15th April
2009.
C413
REVIEW OF SAFEGUARDING ARRANGEMENTS IN LOCAL AUTHORITY AREAS IN
WALES (DSS) (SCRUTINY - SOCIAL CARE AND HEALTH) -
Cabinet were informed of the findings from
recent self-evaluation exercises conducted in the Vale to assess
the effectiveness of local arrangements to safeguard and promote
the welfare of children.
In the light of the shortcomings exposed by
the death of Baby P and highlighted further in the subsequent
review of Haringey’s Children Protection Services, Directors of
Social Services had been required by WAG to review their
arrangements for safeguarding children within their authority and
to report the findings. In carrying out this task, they were
to take into account extant primary legislation, regulations and
statutory guidance and relevant reports, in particular the National
Assembly for Wales Review of Services to Vulnerable Children (2006)
and the Victoria Climbié Report (2003). The recommendations
in the Victoria Climbié Inquiry Report grouped under five headings,
were to be used to assist them in determining the strength and
effectiveness of their arrangements. These headings were:
·
corporate responsibilities
·
assessment and case management
·
monitoring and quality assurance
·
policy, procedures and management information systems
·
workforce - induction, training and professional development.
The report submitted to WAG by the Director of
Social Services in response to these requirements was attached at
Appendix 1 to the report and comprised two parts.
Part 1 contained an evaluation in respect of
each domain set out in the WAG framework:
·
corporate responsibilities
·
assessment and case management
·
monitoring and quality assurance
·
policy, procedures and management information systems
·
workforce - induction, training and professional development.
The evaluation for each domain was in six
sections:
·
performance indicators
·
key questions
·
what is our overall performance?
·
what were the key factors that contributed to our performance?
·
action taken or planned to improve performance and how this action
will improve performance
·
current rating.
At the same time the Chair of the Vale of
Glamorgan Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) was required by
WAG to co-ordinate a collective, joint agency response, based on
discussions with all statutory partners on the LSCB, in which the
effectiveness of local arrangements to safeguard and promote the
welfare of children was to be evaluated.
The report of the Chair of the LSCB, who is
the Council’s Director of Social Services was attached Appendix 2
to the report. It comprised two parts.
Part 1 contained a completed version of an
LSCB Self Assessment and Improvement Tool which was currently being
developed. This framework reflected current expectations of
LSCBs in Wales and pre-conditions for effective partnership
working.
Part 2 contained the response from constituent
agencies of the LSCB. The agencies used different formats for
their response and some were considerably more detailed than
others.
CSSIW would be undertaking a programme of
verification across Wales in respect of the safeguarding audit done
by local authorities and LSCBs. Inspectors were visiting
every local authority. The fieldwork for this verification
programme would take place between 23rd March and
22nd May 2009. Each individual local authority
report would be published at the end of July and an overview report
in September.
The Vale of Glamorgan would be one of the
first local authorities in this programme. It would be
expected to react promptly to any immediate feedback from the
Inspectorate. There was also an urgent case management
inquiry being undertaken by the Council in respect of an adult
placement which led to the children of the host carers suffering
serious abuse. This was expected to report by the end of
April and again the Inquiry was likely to produce recommendations
that would require urgent implementation.
The review demonstrated that the Vale of
Glamorgan was beginning to work more consistently to a good
standard in the key areas. There was a well developed
capacity for identifying and managing risk to children and keeping
them safe from abuse, with evidence of:
·
commitment and expertise on the part of individual practitioners
and managers
·
effective services and systems, high standards and good monitoring
processes.
However, in his report to WAG, the Director
also acknowledged continuing inconsistency in applying policies and
procedures, considerable pressure on staff and elements of
professional practice in respect of assessment which could be
overly optimistic. Management of risk needed to be more
systematic and better recorded. The Council was making
changes with actions already taken to improve performance in these
areas and the fact that a new Head of Children’s Services was now
in post would increase pace of change and make sure that reforms
were embedded.
The Council would be expected to continue
demonstrating political, corporate and departmental
commitment to the work needed for consolidating the many
acknowledged strengths and for dealing with the shortfalls
identified. The report by the Director had been used as a way
of setting out the actions needed for improvement.
Responding on behalf of the LSCB, the Chair
reported that it was becoming a more effective body, able to
exercise a collective responsibility for improving the quality of
work done in the Vale. There was active representation at a
senior level from all the core agencies. The Board had a well
functioning set of sub groups and good links with the key service
planning groups and partnerships in the area. It had a sound
track record in introducing improvements whilst also maintaining a
strong element of continuity and stability. The procedural
framework for safeguarding generally worked well, as measured by
performance indicators.
The LSCB report described the areas where
further improvements were needed. Some of the shortfalls
could be attributed to the lack of dedicated capacity for moving
forward the work of the LSCB, which did not receive directly any
long term funding from WAG. In a difficult financial context,
Social Services and the Children and Young People’s Framework
Partnership had identified the resources needed for employing a
business manager for the LSCB. This would enable an increased
pace of change and development.
The report of the Chair had now been passed to
the Business Planning and Performance Management Sub Group of the
LSCB to develop into a strategic plan and a revised business or
operational plan, with timescales for achieving specific tasks
including a structured and standardised 28 audit on the part of
each constituent agency.
Taking account of the legislative framework,
statutory responsibilities of the LSCB and the structure of the
Vale of Glamorgan’s partnership arrangements, it was decided to put
in place the arrangements set out in Appendix 3 to the report, to
ensure a co-ordinated approach to planning and service
delivery. The LSCB agreed that agency representation on the
Board should be at Director or equivalent level and the Board had
been streamlined, to focus on statutory agency membership. As
a consequence, there were direct links to Local Service Board
Implementation Group and to all the relevant partnerships.
These arrangements were working well and the LSCB had asked the
Council to endorse them.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the safeguarding reports submitted to the Welsh Assembly
Government by the Director of Social Services and the Chair of the
Vale of Glamorgan Local Safeguarding Children Board be noted.
(2) T H A
T the report be referred to Scrutiny Committee (Social Care and
Health) for consideration.
(3) T H A
T the arrangements set out in Appendix 3 to the report for linking
the LSCB to the relevant planning partnerships within the Vale of
Glamorgan’s overall framework for partnership working be
approved.
Reasons for decisions
To ensure that:
(1)
Cabinet is aware of the findings from the evaluative exercises
carried out to ascertain how far the Council is delivering a
coherent child protection service.
(2) The
Council’s statutory responsibilities for safeguard vulnerable
children are being scrutinised effectively.
(3) The
structure of partnership working in the Vale of Glamorgan helps the
LSCB to deliver its statutory responsibilities.